


So I Stay

by Adox



Category: RWBY
Genre: Em and Merc are sad, Hazel is dad, Implied Child Abuse, post volume 5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-03-07 22:10:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13444446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adox/pseuds/Adox
Summary: Cinder was everything he wanted to be. Emerald was fun— refreshing. And Salem was tolerable.Everything else was irrelevant(Quick oneshot taking place directly after the V5 finale)(because the kids aren't alright)





	So I Stay

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in like 45 minutes so it's not the best but I need to express how happy I am that Em and Merc are very likely to be like main bois in Volume 6 (based on how V5 left off.)  
> Comments are love.

Emerald didn’t wake up suddenly, like Mercury thought she would. He thought she’d sit up with a jerk and a gasp, like he did whenever he slept long enough to have a nightmare. But she didn’t. It ended up being a much more taxing process, which was pretty understandable— considering what she had done back at Haven.

 

He watched the whole thing silently, legs hugged close to his chest, eyes never leaving the sleeping Emerald. Hazel watched over the fire, poking it gently. The two faces of that man confused Mercury, because the moment they left that building, he ceased being the hulked out, dust driven beast that probably would’ve destroyed the entire place if they’d continued fighting. Instead, he lifted Emerald over his shoulder (despite the illusion that had even penetrated into _their_ minds) and bolted. Mercury had no other choice but to follow. As if he’d stay behind.

 

Honestly, he wasn’t sure how long they’d been running— how far they got. It had to have been quite the distance, because his feet started to ache, and he didn’t have feet. He envied Hazel’s semblance— among other things.

 

Hazel knew what to do. Or at least he acted like he did, which both frustrated Mercury, and allowed him a semblance of confidence that they weren’t going to die right then and there. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen when they returned to Salem.

 

Either way, they only stopped when they arrived at a cliff-side clearing, so nobody could attack from behind. Mercury would’ve argued that they had nowhere to run in case of an attack, if he had the stamina to talk. He didn’t.

 

Mercury took off his jacket without a word, motioning for Hazel to place Emerald there instead of on the rocky ground before beginning a search for firewood.

 

“You can watch your friend,” Hazel suggested gruffly, walking past Mercury, “I can get the firewood.”

 

So he did, unwilling to argue with the brute.

 

And there they were.

 

Things went wrong so fast— and he still couldn’t wrap his head around how. It wasn’t like he and Emerald were weaker than these children (he ignored the fact that he too was a child), because they weren’t. Emerald’s semblance was one of the most powerful he’d ever seen, Hazel was… whatever he was, and Mercury was strong. He didn’t live through 16 years of Marcus Black to be anything less.

 

 He guessed that they were too confident in Cinder, played around too much, underestimated their enemy. It was a classic mistake. His dad warned him against it all the time.

 

_Get a feel for your enemy before you do anything rash._

He did it with the Nikos girl, and he was good at it. The problem was that he couldn’t help but be overconfident when it came to Cinder. Sure, he didn’t worship the ground she stood on like Emerald had, but there was something inspiring about her. She knew what she wanted, and walked like the earth was graced by her heels stabbing into its flesh.

 

Hazel looked over to Mercury without moving his head. “I can take first watch.”

 

Mercury hummed in response, but didn’t move from his spot. He had his own watch.

 

He knew that when Emerald woke up, it would be worse than whatever illusion had taken over everybody’s mind. Not that she’d make another one. He knew she’d just shut down— and he knew that he could keep her from doing anything stupid. Hazel didn’t know Emerald like Mercury knew Emerald.

 

“Why are you still here?” Hazel pressed, after what seemed like hours of midnight. “You fought for Cinder, you have no reason to keep fighting.”

 

Good question.

 

“What else should I do?” Mercury responded, his voice didn’t waver. It was a genuine question, because he had no clue— but at the same time, it was a statement. There was nothing else to do.

 

“You can leave.”

 

“And do what?”

 

Hazel was silent after that. He didn’t know exactly who Mercury and Emerald were, other than Cinder’s “disciples,” and only now took the time to look at their faces. Sure, Mercury had high cheekbones, and wide shoulders, and almost full control over the anger that consumed him. But right then, Hazel just saw a confused kid. Emerald’s body didn’t hold that attitude, that understanding of self when she was curled up and shivering, unconscious on a thin jacket.

 

Emerald woke up eventually, but she was far from coherent. Mercury perked up as she groaned and curled farther into herself, hands struggling to grip her throbbing forehead. Her breathing was loud and shaky; he could tell just by looking that she had a fever, that she wouldn’t be up and about for a day or two.

 

It didn’t look like a nightmare— even though she was obviously going through some mental turmoil. It looked like she was just conscious enough to feel all that pain, and remember that the one person she cared about was dead.

 

“So what’s next?” Mercury asked, not looking away from his partner. “We gonna get killed or something?”

 

Hazel let out a long, vocalized sigh as he stared into the fire. “She has more pressing matters.”

 

“Which means?”

 

“We’re headed to Atlas.”

 

Mercury finally turned to Hazel, “don’t we need another Maiden for that?” He ignored that ugly feeling of… something that collected in his stomach around that word. _Maiden. Cinder._

“Tyrian has that covered, I presume.”

 

“Oh, him.”

 

Hazel let out a humorless chuckle. “Yes– _him._ ” He paused before speaking again, “you really don’t care about Salem, do you?”

 

“I don’t really care about anything, to be honest.” And he was honest, right there. More than he’d been since he spat in his father’s face before stomping it in.

 

“You care about her.”

 

Mercury wasn’t sure if he was talking about Cinder or Emerald. He wasn’t sure if Hazel was right.

 

“Who knows?” Mercury shrugged, leaning away from the heat of the campfire. “Cinder was everything I wanted to be. Emerald is fun— almost refreshing. Salem is tolerable.”

 

“So you stay.”

 

“So I stay.”

 

Hazel pressed his lips together, but the emotion behind that wasn’t evident. “Ozpin and his _children_ are likely headed in the same direction.”

 

“Good.” He didn’t know if it was. He hesitated before asking, “what’s your beef with him anyways? Ozpin.”

 

“He killed my sister.”

 

“Ah,” Mercury didn’t really know what to say next. He said it anyways. “I killed my father.”

 

Hazel’s breath caught in his throat, but he was too muscular and it was too dark for it to be noticeable. “That’s… Unfortunate.”

 

“I wish I did it sooner. But maybe I don’t. I don’t think I’d be here if I had.”

 

“Do you want to be here?”

 

Mercury didn’t answer, Hazel didn’t push, Emerald continued to shake, and the night went on. One thing was certain, though.

 

They were going to Atlas— and they weren’t leaving without the relic.  

**Author's Note:**

> Lemons and Anywhere are both gonna get updates— I just needed to write this real quick haha.  
> Comments are love. 
> 
> IF YOU WANT ME TO CONTINUE THIS OR SOMETHING you can ask. I might do some more stuff who knows.


End file.
